Bernie Sanders says his job now is to 'rally my supporters' for Joe Biden

published 15 April 2020

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Tuesday urged his supporters to back former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, saying President Trump will win in November if progressives "sit on their hands."

Last week, Sanders suspended his presidential bid, and he endorsed Biden on Monday. During an interview with The Associated Press, Sanders said if his loyalists take an active role in this election, they will "move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction," but if they sit it out, that will pave the way for "the most dangerous president in modern American history to get re-elected."

Sanders also told AP it would be "irresponsible" for his supporters not to back Biden just because they disagree with him on some issues, and predicted that there will soon be "significant movement on the part of the Biden campaign into a more progressive direction on a whole lot of issues." He then vowed to "do everything I can to help elect Joe. We had a contentious campaign. We disagree on issues. But my job now is to not only rally my supporters, but to do everything I can to bring the party together to see that [Trump] is not elected president."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.